For everyone who has review or favourited; thank you so much, I really really appreciate the support for this Fic.
I am loving writing Klaus so much, but you may wish to growl at me for his attitude this chapter. Not a spoiler! Simply saying.
Chapter Four: Fight
Caroline awoke late in the day. Noon had been and gone, but so had multiple grimoires and translation guides during the early hours of the morning; she was exhausted. She peeled herself from the comfort of the borrowed bed and listened in to the commotion that stirred her. The original trio were arguing, again.
She sighed and stretched out her aching muscles.
The labour of last night had achieved only one tiny piece of information to aid them. A water damaged spellbook bound in animal skin had passages speaking of a 'last wish' spell. It spoke of a curse used by a vengeful witch that would take the witch's life but bind her enemy to a fate much worse. It was some seriously dark magic, there were even drops of blood on the pages telling of satanic sacrifices and offerings.
There was no talk of a cure in the pages, but Elijah reassured her it was not something witches of that calibre were likely to include anyway. The information gained gave them little hope, the 'last wish' bled over into so many different realms of magic it was impossible to locate an origin or backtrack to a cure.
Ultimately, they returned right back to square one's ideas, that the cure was in Klaus, he just needed to trigger it by fulfilling the wish and thus his humanity.
As a last crazy impulse before disappointment hit too hard, Caroline had started to google the principles of humanity, looking for the light switch to press in Klaus.
But between religious beliefs and unparalleled kindness, her energy exhausted before the search engine did.
A spike in the argument downstairs drew her attention back and she started downstairs, well aware she had fallen asleep in her clothes from yesterday. Whoever a man named Marcel was, he had the Mikaelsons at each other's throats.
Caroline followed the noise to the dining room where siblings were throwing words over glasses of blood and a spread of mouthwatering food. All of it untouched.
"Who's Marcel?" she asked at the first pause in the argument.
Three heads turned, two covered their surprise easily, the human one failed to be so speedy.
"Great, the baby vampire wants to play politics." Klaus slapped sarcasm over his sudden jolt. It seemed his bad moor had returned, probably from the awkward position he chose to sleep in, or perhaps the fact he had succumbed to sleep itself. Either way, it was looking like a grey mood day.
Caroline felt her heart drop in her chest, so much for yesterday. So much for his flirty playfulness.
It seemed Klaus was either angry at her or desperate to have her. Was there no inbetween?
He was giving her whiplash from his moods and it wasn't doing wonders for her ego either.
"Marcel is… complicated." Elijah began. "At present, he's a vampire ally." A scoff came across the table from Klaus. "But, it seems without Klaus' continued presence, there is talk over overthrowing the French quarter."
"Let him have it!" Rebekah hissed, not for the first time. "What does it matter? As soon as Klaus is back he can take back his precious land. I don't care about it, neither do you." She jabbed a finger toward Elijah. "It's his petty fight." Klaus. "And he will fight it when he fixes himself."
"Need I remind you of the fight we had to retake that quarter upon our return?" Klaus snarled, his fists clenched. "Should I perhaps remind you of our long history in that quarter? Or perhaps you care more for keeping your precious boyfriend happy?"
"Marcel is no-"
"Regardless." Elijah spoke over the soon to be petty argument. "Until Niklaus has returned to full strength, there is little we can do. A negotiable truce is the best we can offer."
"The best we can offer?" Klaus repeated. "And when you roll over to Marcel, what will that say about my current predicament? We both know he expects my fight. If I don't provide, he will know something is wrong, and I was under the impression we were trying to keep my state as quiet as possible."
"Damn it Nik, what do you propose? We shove you in the firing line and let them all listen to your heartattack?"
"Please sister, there's a reason you don't plan any fights. Perhaps take advice from that long history." Klaus rolled his eyes and physically turned from his sister.
"Niklaus, any fight at current would risk exposure. I am not saying it is permanent, I am sayin-"
"It's my town!" Klaus bit out, no hesitation of going head to head with his stronger brother.
"What if…" Caroline began softly, but eyes all went spinning back to her. A familiar heat of public speaking crept on her. "Perhaps this… Marcel would be willing to hold off a few days." Mouths opened to argue so she spoke faster. "Obviously there are relationships with him," her eyes flashed to Rebekah. "Perhaps a respectable friendship?" she tried again when she received a glare back. "And it may only be a few days before Klaus is back to himself anyway."
"We could play him for time." Elijah agreed. "However, he is acting commander of other vampires who could act without order."
"Unless we make it seem too risky." Rebekah suggested.
"It's a failure waiting to happen." Klaus supplied, bored with the line of thought. "Baby vampire here had no idea what she's doing." Caroline felt her heart crush under his words.
"Building an army perhaps." The Mikaelson daughter offered, ignoring Klaus entirely. "Expecting a rebellion."
"I will speak with him. I am almost sure we would be able to halt the plans. I was under the impression he was already holding reservations about the idea." Elijah agreed, already standing.
"Lovely." Klaus spoke to the air. "Well, when the french quarter is overrun with inexperienced little vampires playing kings and queens in my city, it will be the first place I tear apart after putting a dagger in both your hearts!" Klaus's tongue slashed away again. With a huff of disapproval, he turned and returned to the bedroom he had claimed, the door slamming loudly.
"Like living with a damn teenager." Rebekah muttered under her breath. It seemed Klaus had been amiss a good mood since he woke up.
"Should I…" Caroline pointed to the bedroom. Should she say something? Could she comfort him in any way?
"Unless you want to play dodge the stake, I think you're better down here for a while." Rebekah grinned. Klaus may be declawed but he wasn't harmless.
"I'll return soon." Elijah promised and took off at vampire speed to meet once more with Marcel.
It was 20 minutes later, Rebekah was watching Caroline pull together a stew from the wasted meat Klaus hadn't touched at dinner, when all attention went to footsteps outside.
Caroline paused, knife in hand, water turned down to a simmer to stop more noise interference. Elijah was still out, but it certainly wasn't him returning in high heels on their driveway. It certainly wasn't him with a heartbeat.
Instantly, both the women tuned their ears to Klaus' heartbeat.
"Go to Klaus. I'll deal with this." Rebekah insisted and instantly Caroline sped out the kitchen, knife still in hand.
She stopped on the balcony outside his room, Rebekah nodded up at her, clocking her position.
"Louisa." Rebekah greeted happily to the female guest, the click of heels slowing to a stop just out of sight under the arch of the entryway. "What do we owe the pleasure?"
"Your brother. I need to see him." Her voice was firm, it gave Caroline the impression of narrow lips and crow's feet. "We need to talk."
"Elijah just stepped out." Rebekah answered, knowing full well that was not the brother in reference.
"The other brother." Came the sharp crisp words, but with light footfalls, the woman walked into sight. Thin lips were pouted and painted red. The woman looked barely 30, as pretty as a model with long ginger hair and sparkling green eyes. Caroline felt instant loathing of the women. No one should be that pretty.
Jealousy struck her like lightning. How did Louisa know Klaus?
"I have an abundance of siblings, you'll have to be more specific." Rebekah taunted all too happily. Perhaps Rebekah joined Caroline in her feelings. They seemed far from friendly.
"KLAUS!" the guest shouted, stepping further into the compound. "KLAUS!" the woman spotted Caroline on the balcony. "Who's she?" Disgust was evident in her tone.
"A play toy." Rebekah supplied easily, not a skip in her smooth words. "You know how boys get."
Caroline had too much tension to even feel a bubble of anger, she knew it wasn't maliciously intended. On the contrary, it was for survival and evidently, this woman didn't come for tea and biscuits.
"And which boy would she be for?" But her eyes skipped over Caroline dismissingly and the woman turned back to the sister. "I need to see Klaus."
"He's not here I'm afraid, but I can tell him you dropped by." A kind offer from Rebekah. One that tasted sickly sweet.
"I know he's here, and I need to see hi-"
"So see me." The women all turned to the balcony. Caroline cursed under her breath as Klaus stepped out from the doors behind her and to the edge of the balcony, hands placed lazily on the banister.
"So you are still alive." The woman laughed bitterly. "I was told differently."
"Bad information, I'm afraid." Klaus answered, staying where he was, he looked disinterested through and through. "I'm perfectly healthy, perhaps even sporting a glow of happiness today. Nothing compared to you though, have you been using those spells of yours for that suntan?" he teased, crossing his arms and leaning forward onto them.
Witch, Caroline instantly labelled. Her eyes training to the ruby lips she hated, a whisper of latin and she'd be tearing limb from limb.
"Because something such a trifle should be abused by magics." she hissed sarcastically. But her posture changed from defensive in a blink. "I heard something actually. About the Black Stone of Salem." A cold grip tugged on the Mikaelson bones. "Something about you being interested in knowing about it."
"Ah, well, after a lot of wasted time and money on research I find it's nothing more than a fable, so whatever story you are selling, you will find me without care for it." He turned to return to his room.
"I see." The lady cackled out a laugh, something far too pretty to belong to a witch. "So it's true. Klaus Mikaelson is cursed." He halted and turned back, carelessly positioning himself infront of Caroline. Never to look weak. Not even in his most defenceless state.
"Cursed with good looks, twisted humour and a weakness for beautiful blondes, yes." His eyes, even in the danger, cut to Caroline and softened for a second. He quickly covered it with hostility. "It's true." But the humour did nothing to cover the truth from her.
"Klaus Mikaelson tore through a Salem ancestor." she narrated.
"Most probably, there have been a lot of dead witches in my life." He played the role of the hybrid king so well you wouldn't know from his posture or tone that anything had changed.
"You'd remember this one." Caroline and Rebekah suddenly heard numerous other footsteps, all flooding through from the woods and heading to them with speed. Klaus, of course, didn't know, he couldn't react. "She died cursing you. She passed a message to come for your blood. Your human blood."
The secret had been spilled. There was no chance to cover this with lies and boisterous acts.
Rebekah moved instantly, reaching to snap her neck clean and clear. Crippling pain met her before she could.
Caroline met the same fate, the witch didn't say a word, just rose her hands and scrunched them tight. Both vampires were pinned by the ghostly illusion of pain.
Even knowing the pain wasn't real it didn't aid anything. Caroline had been tortured, bitten, cut, thrown and used in fights between supernatural creatures, but nothing compared to the pain a witch could summon. It dropped you like a stone, curling defensively to cradle and comfort the body you had. Her head felt like it would explode with pressure, her legs wobbled unable to hold her, her arms felt like insects were crawling out of them, tearing the flesh constantly. It was agony. And nobody could do agony like the witches.
And then it was gone.
The hell she was living in fell from her. Like a wet blanket over a roaring fire, the pain was gone.
She opened her eyes to find Klaus smugly staring over the balcony.
She pushed herself from the floor to find the knife that had been in her hand was now lodged in the witch's chest.
Perhaps the witch was too distracted, too confident or too used to easy human prey, but she had overlooked Klaus and his aim had been true to take advantage of that fact. After all, declawed did not mean powerless. Whilst the witch may have forgotten that, she didn't forget back-up, and they were drawing ever closer.
"Well, now that's dealt with." Klaus spoke to the rising females. "Be a darling and take her body to the bayou would you?"
"Klaus." The pure fear in Caroline's eyes paused him for a second but he brushed it off.
"Could you two be any more useless?" he scoffed and turned back to his room once more, closing the door.
"Smells like wolves." Rebekah suddenly spoke, picking up on sensory information more accurately now. "Six, seven possibly." She sped to the dead body, tossing the knife back up to Caroline. "Stay with him."
"You can't take on six by yourself." Caroline hissed. It wasn't a full moon, but it didn't make them any less deadly.
"We're not leaving him alone." she replied quickly sinking back into a hunting crouch.
Caroline pushed into Klaus' room, instantly slamming the door closed and dragging a dresser before it.
"Oh good, round two of the littlest vampire who couldn't." he sneered. "What use would that possibly be against anyone? At least try to fight like a vampire. Some of us cannot." Klaus pulled a shotgun from a wardrobe and deftly loaded it.
Anger bubbled in her veins, but she hadn't expected so much of it to be directed at the man she was saving.
"I don't know what crawled up your ass, but just shut up, alright?" she hissed. "Your sister is out there risking her life for you and you couldn't care less."
"My sister failed to take care of one lone witch, she is hardly laying much of a life down."
"The witch was right; you are void of humanity." Caroline swore, unable to be more disgusted with him than right then.
"Love, if I remember it rightly, you were the one to fall in love with me as a hybrid, when I was further from humanity than I am now." Klaus always went for the jugular with his words. He wasn't happy unless he'd hurt you, stunned you or shocked you.
This time, he did all three.
"I was not… this is not the time." she snapped. But her second wind of the argument was cut off by footfalls coming ever closer, and they weren't approaching from outside the barricaded door.
She sped to the balcony. The back-up for the back-up were already thundering down the wrap around balcony of the upper story and heading straight for them, yellow eyes like headlights pointed directly to Klaus.
Caroline launched the knife at the leader of the pack, speeding to rip it from his falling body and slice the throat of the next in line.
Hands and teeth came at her, her body colliding with the pack the more she fought.
Her fists broke bones, the sound and sensation disturbing her sanity. There was no part of her that enjoyed this. Broken and wounded, the men kept fighting.
Hands tugged her hair, drawing her back sharply and shooting pain into her. It was at that moment, a gun shot burst through the air, the bullet smashing into the head of the assailant that had been directly infront of her.
Her eyes didn't have a chance to turn deadly to Klaus and his risky aim. There was already a wolf that had slipped past her and thundering to her human tormentor.
She jabbed an elbow back into the body that held her, sacrificing a few strands of hair to rush the animal. She grabbed around an arm to pull him from his course, to drag him into her and rip arteries from his neck. She didn't manage more than a touch.
A shotgun blast threw both Caroline and the man back, skidding across the floor and releasing the horde of wolves the narrow balcony had been holding behind the fight.
To make matters worse, the roars of the free intruders brought forth their packmates slamming through the main barricade in the room. All hell was unleashed, funnelling from two directions with murderous intent and a venomous bite.
Klaus was backed into the corner of the balcony, a sick smile on his face, halfway between enjoyment and fear. Caroline tried to keep her cool head, but the crashing panic was overheating her.
All she could think was that she had to protect Klaus. He was the most vulnerable and the clearest target. As long as he lived, she had succeeded. It wasn't anything noble or self sacrificing, simply that they wanted Klaus dead and despite his current disposition, she wasn't okay with letting them win.
With that in mind, she took position infront of Klaus, ensuring one part of her body kept between the wolves reach and Klaus' human vulnerabilities.
More than once she ended up on the floor, stretching out a limb to hurl back a man twice her size or break the legs within her reach.
Caroline had seen plenty of fights, but nothing of this outnumbered size. In the movies the good guy always made it look so fluid and effortless when fighting. Caroline felt nothing like that. It was a constant struggle just to keep a barrier between the bad guys and their soon-to-be victim.
Her vision became a barrage of limbs, some she just had to push away, others she ripped from sockets, throwing from the balcony.
Make-shift stakes came from the splintered door, rushing to her chest.
She ducked left, then back right, pulling a man into the path of the next stake and letting him take the killing blow in exchange. Caroline took the opportunity to reach through the chest of her human shield and into the one of the assailant. Klaus always made it seem so easy to pull a heart from a chest, but the truth was; it wasn't easy. Ignoring all psychological struggle, the pressure needed to break the rib cage and tear the arteries and veins connecting it wasn't the job of an in and out touch, it was a grab, a twist, a tug, a snag and then feeling the last sole beat of a heart in your palm as it squirted blood.
Any other instance, Caroline might have recoiled from the blood up her arm, now, with dark veins spiralling out from her eyes and fangs ready to kill, she just dropped the object and pounced on the next assailant, teeth to neck.
Teeth came back to her from the human wolves, desperate to kill, to wound, to succeed. Caroline was back on top through, numbers were dropping and the situation was more manageable. Klaus would occasionally call in victory as a gunshot took a target or some other weapon he had drawn stole a life. Together they dropped the numbers faster than Caroline expected.
Bright yellow eyes of three finally stood opposing the two bloodied defenders.
Caroline took a heartbeat to turn and look at Klaus.
He was grinning ear to ear, war taunts slipping out distracting and disgruntling the wolves.
They snarled in return, snapping human teeth and spittle.
These had fought through the injuries they sustained, standing with inhumane strength and determination to finish their work.
It stank of witch interference. Wolves ran in tight packs. No wolf would continue a losing fight after losing so many pack mates. This was magic.
One was bleeding from a bullet to his chest. Even as a wolf, the lung the wound had exposed should be making movement agony for him, yet still, he advanced.
Another was limping, bone pushing out from his kneecap, still, he crept forward.
Lastly, their middle man, he stood covered in the blood of his pack, battered in wounds, cut from the wooden door he had clearly forced himself through.
Together they advanced.
Caroline sunk closer to the ground, lowering her centre of gravity and rooting her feet. Three brutes rushing her would not be pleasant.
Another taunt slipped from Klaus and the wolves barricade broke, all three set towards them at full speed.
A gunshot set the strongest back a few paces, the other two met Caroline head first in a mess of limbs. A twisted neck severed the spinal cord of one, instantly disabling his fight and ending his life.
The second tried to use that time to rip out Caroline's carotid artery with his teeth, he managed to catch the collar of her jacket but the force sent her slamming back into the brickwork.
She fought for power, desperately trying to avoid the teeth coming at her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the brute who had taken the shotgun shell charge towards Klaus.
Caroline stretched out a hand to grab him and pull him off course, but the blood coating her hands and the blood of his own wounds met to slip him through without any chance of grip. He slid past easily, seconds from Klaus.
Caroline felt true panic rush through her, it was enough for her to find the strength to launch the man from her, over the balcony edge and to meet the ground with a bone breaking, life-ending slam.
She barrelled to the wolf, but in a blink of an eye, his body dropped away from his head, crashing to the ground.
Caroline followed the head from the bloodied hands that held it all the way back to the blonde hair of the Original Vampiress.
"Slippery bastard." Rebekah whispered to herself, obviously having had trouble with the same man downstairs. There was a bloodied gap in her clothing that said they'd tried to stake her.
In a bated breath, it was all over.
Rebekah dropped the head and surveyed the scene.
Caroline did the same.
Caroline had never experienced a warzone. She'd seen massacres and death in abundance, but nothing quite like this.
Bodies were littered all around, hung over the railings, torn in half on the tiles, impailed at odd angles.
She swallowed tightly, suddenly ashamed. She had caused this.
It had been life or death, but this death was all at her hand in the name of defence.
She knew she shouldn't feel like this, but she did, and that wasn't changing.
"They came from both sides." Rebekah needlessly stated, her eyes roaming the same sights. Carpets that had been taken from aristocrats' mansions centuries ago were soaked through with wolf blood, stinking out the room.
Klaus lowered the gun, a hand to the scratch on his arm, then eyes to the offending broken vase that had cut him.
Rebekah sighed. In a fight of over 15 wolves, his only injury was from a vase.
"As with any good assault." Nik offered in narration to finish Rebekah statement. "Yet look, I still stand. Alive and kicking. Your protection was barely necessary."
"Barely necessary?!" Caroline hissed, the fight far from over for her. Why was he being such a dick to her? Sure, there was the whole ego hit from losing his power, but she'd saved his life several times that day. "You'd be dead if not for me."
"Someone thinks highly of themselves today." he commented sickly. "Now, be of use and drag out these bodies before they start to smell." He disappeared back out of the room and into another clean one.
"Are you okay?" Caroline asked on a sigh, noting the blood up and down Rebekah.
"Seriously considering fratricide." she muttered, eyes closed to quell the rage. "But otherwise, perfectly whole."
"You took on seven alone?" Had downstairs been as much of a fight?
"They were new wolves; no pack behaviour. No idea which kin they were, but they weren't from around here."
"You think they were sent here by a witch?"
"We've got a much bigger problem than witches commanding werewolves. If the message has been passed through witches now, there will be thousands of people coming here for him."
"Then we need to go elsewhere. Somewhere remote."
"I think I know somewhere. I'll let Elijah know the situation." Rebekah pulled out her phone and stepped from the hell ground.